"Are you sure? The Ashai Evil Gods were born at the dawn of creation?" Dany's voice trembled, and cold sweat soaked her back.
Damn it. She had planned that after the Battle of Meereen, she would take the Shadowbinder's "Evil God Registry" and head east of Ashai to hunt them down one by one, "slay gods and raise dragon babies"!
If what the old turtle said was true, those evil gods born from the beginning of heaven and earth would be the equivalent of primeval Chaos Demon Gods.
Her plan to scour Ashai for evil beings would be almost the same as cultivators in the world of the Primordial Desolation, after Journey to the West, going to pick a fight at the Daoist temples of the Three Pure Ones. An old immortal hanging himself. Suicide.
"This was told to me by the Mother Goddess, so it should not be wrong. However, the Demon Gods born from the earliest time only make up a very small portion of the total dark beings in the far east.
Just as the world under sunlight has the Mother Goddess, but far more of it is filled with ordinary life forms like you and me," Chancellor Turtle said.
Right, even at the dawn of the Primordial Desolation, there were not only the Three Pure Ones and a few Saints. There were far more unrooted witches and monsters, as well as the later generations of the two clans of witches and monsters.
Dany let out a sigh of relief. Dragon babies still needed feeding. Evil still needed purging. She would bring Tam and Quaithe along and let the Shadowbinder identify the soft persimmons.
"Was the River Lorne Mother Goddess born together with those evil gods?"
The old turtle shook his head and spoke slowly. "One day after the beginning of heaven and earth, a Demon God born from the darkness became dissatisfied with the world of darkness, cold, and death. So He drew a spark of First Fire from the earth and brought the first light and the first warmth to the world.
After that, that Demon God forged the spark into a great lantern hanging in the sky, at the cost of His own life.
It became the first sun between heaven and earth.
The sun's light and heat drove away darkness on the earth and the creatures born in the darkness, and also awakened mountains, plains, and rivers.
The Mother awoke at that moment.
Which means the Mother Goddess was born far later than the Demon Gods of darkness."
"The sun actually came from a lump of fire separated from the earth's core?" Dany found it hard to accept.
"The entire world was born from the First Fire. What is strange about forging a sun from it?" the old turtle said dismissively.
"And who was that poor fool who forged the sun?" Dany asked.
"Poor fool?" Chancellor Turtle's tone was full of indignation. "He brought light and fire to the world. All life awoke because of Him. He can almost be called the 'Mother of All Life'. How can you call Him that?"
"Fine. I apologize," Dany adapted instantly. "He was a pitiful Mother of All Life, forged a sun and lost His life, and now everyone has forgotten His name and deeds."
"You and I are praising His great deeds right now. The Mother remembers. She told me, I told you, and you will tell those who come after. Even if mortals forget, heaven and earth never will. And the sun in the sky is the deepest remembrance," the old turtle said solemnly.
Dany could not help respecting not the Demon God who forged the sun, but the turtle beneath her. She had assumed he was a fool and never expected him to say something so philosophical.
She pointed upward with her finger. "Was this sun forged by the River Lorne Mother Goddess? She does not seem to have died."
"No, the Mother Goddess cannot forge the sun." The turtle shook his head. "I do not know the exact reason. I can only tell you what happened at the time.
Azor Ahai came holding the red hero's sword and found the Mother. He told her: 'I have fulfilled my mission. Now it is your turn.'
The Mother seemed to receive something from him. It appeared to be a token.
I asked the Mother a similar question, asked if she was going to forge a sun.
She said she could not.
She summoned all the subordinate gods of the River Lorne and pulled us together to sing a song. I have no idea what happened. I only felt endless divine power being drawn out of me, followed by endless exhaustion. I drifted into sleep."
"You fell asleep? You do not know what happened after?" Dany stared in disbelief.
Such an important moment, and you were sleeping?
The turtle seemed embarrassed and replied stiffly. "I was not the only one who slept. The Crab King slept too."
Compared to a giant river crab, you think that makes you honorable?
Dany stared blankly.
Sensing her mood, the old turtle quickly added, "Summoning the sun is exhausting. Even the Mother Goddess slept for thousands of years."
Dany kept her expression stiff. "Did you not ask the Mother Goddess what happened afterward?"
"Of course I asked. But she did not say much. She only told me that the River Lorne gods drew endless fire from beneath the earth and poured it into a… I assume it was the mold for the sun. Then a new sun rose over the world."
"That does make some sense. Earth fire is indeed stronger than dragonflame." Dany grudgingly accepted this strange cosmology.
Though if they draw fire today, and the sun dies tomorrow, and draw more fire the next day, then after countless years, will the fire at the world's heart not burn out?
"That thing Azor Ahai gave to the Mother Goddess… what was it? If the sun needs to be summoned again, do we need it?"
"It seemed like a kind of destiny," Chancellor Turtle said uncertainly. "Considering Azor Ahai's greatest achievement was driving back the Others and evil demons, that object will likely appear again after the Others and dark monsters are repelled."
"That makes sense," Dany said thoughtfully.
Azor Ahai did more than end the threat of the Others.
After finishing the business in Westeros, he returned to the east, wielding Lightbringer, and continued to battle monsters from the dark world.
When Dany first heard the story of Azor Ahai, she assumed the dark monsters were the same Others invading the eastern continent via the 'Arctic Circle'.
Now she thought, who says the world is round? What Arctic Circle?
Those monsters were likely evil beings from the dark realm east of Ashai.
"The Battle of Meereen is almost over." Dany stood, tilted her head back, lifted her visor, and let the falling snowflakes touch her face. A growing urgency filled her heart. "I have to seize every opportunity to increase my strength. Jhiqi… sweetie, where are you?"
"So cold!" Aemon shivered, brushing snowflakes from his thinning white hair. "It is snowing in Slaver's Bay?!"
Missandei tightened her thin collar and shouted toward the garden. "Little Fog! Little Fog, are you there?"
"Whoosh." A cluster of red light drifted out from the trunk of the fishbeam tree.
The firelight burst apart, revealing a small girl with dragonfly wings.
"Ah, it's so cold! What is that falling from the sky?" Little Mist held up a melting snowflake and asked in confusion.
She had never seen snow before.
"Little Mist, go ask the queen what's going on with the sun in the sky," Missandei said.
Well, Little Mist was the Dragon Queen's messenger. Whenever anyone needed to see the Dragon Queen, they often sought her help.
"Seven gods above, it's only three degrees on the Dragon scale now, and the temperature is still dropping!" Myrcella, who had run under the persimmon tree, cried out as she held up the outdoor thermometer.
"This…" Old Aemon hurried over to inspect it closely. "Mother have mercy. I measured it this morning, and it was fourteen degrees on the Dragon scale.
Blocking out the sky is not one of Dany's divine powers. She might be able to obscure the sun, but lowering the temperature like this exceeds the limits of her abilities."
As he said this, realization suddenly dawned on the old man. He cried out in terror, "Ah, Mother above, the Long Night. It's the Long Night! The Long Night has truly arrived, the sun has gone out.
It's not just Slaver's Bay that has gone dark. The entire world must be the same as us."
Old Aemon was overthinking it. Slaver's Bay could at least still see faint daylight. Other places were already plunged into total darkness.
Volantis.
"Ah! The prophecy of the High Priest Benerro has come true!"
"The nobles of the Black Wall have betrayed the light. They have had their minds corrupted by the yellow harpy of the East and, together with godless foreigners, plotted the most despicable alliance. Their foolish acts have brought darkness and destruction upon us."
The slaves, who made up eighty percent of the population, felt endless fear and bewilderment as the sun went out. Fear made them irritable and drove them to anger.
They gathered outside the Red Temple, surrounding the Black Wall, loudly cursing, roaring, and crying. The Red Temple stood right against the Black Wall where the powerful lived. Even many free citizens of Volantis, overcome by terror, came before the temple seeking spiritual comfort.
This was because the High Priest had warned the world countless times before. The Volantene nobles had betrayed the light. The despicable alliance they formed would inevitably bring darkness. Only Daenerys was the savior.
Now, the High Priest's prophecy had suddenly come true.
"Sigh, in fact, I haven't preached that Daenerys is the savior for more than half a year now," he said.
Inside the Red Temple, a vast complex of interlaced bridges and towering spires, the High Priest, whose pale cheeks were covered in flame tattoos, sighed.
"Then what is going on with the sun?" Triarch Dofas asked anxiously.
Dofas was the Elephant Party triarch who had once patrolled the streets of Volantis on elephantback and whom Dany had encountered before. He was part of the opposition to Volantis joining the war in Slaver's Bay.
Originally, Dofas was due to step down when his term ended. But the Dragon Queen caused havoc in Volantis and burned to death the other two promising triarchs, hardline advocates of military action against Slaver's Bay.
During the handling of the "Black Wall Dragonfire" incident, Dofas performed exceptionally well and unexpectedly secured re-election.
The moment the sun went out, Dofas, like the slaves outside the temple, thought of the countless public prophecies Benerro had made.
So he came here.
"Will the sun come back out? It's snowing outside. Gods above, has it ever snowed in Volantis? Maybe it has, but such heavy, goose-feather snow is truly a first!"
Dofas's face was deathly pale, as if he sensed something terribly wrong.
"The Long Night stretches on, darkness approaches. I have said it countless times. Now it has come. The Long Night has come," Benerro said bitterly.
"Because we formed an alliance to attack Daenerys, the Lord of Light is punishing us?" Dofas asked in a trembling voice.
"Not quite," Benerro shook his head and waved away the servants and lesser priests. "The Long Night is destined to arrive. Whether you fight Daenerys or not has not the slightest copper coin's worth of relevance."
"Then what you said before…"
"I believed Daenerys was the savior foretold by the Red God, so I wanted to help her. Later… sigh, the prophecy was wrong," the High Priest said with a haggard expression.
"Fuck!" Dofas cursed in fury. "It seems we've been far too lenient with the Red Temple."
"Triarch, this is the Red Temple, and outside are hundreds of thousands of believers," Benerro said coldly.
[Postscript: Benerro's proclamation.
Darkness approaches. The foolish acts of the ignorant will bring blood, fire, and destruction. Only the savior can redeem the world.
After the Long Summer, when the stars bleed, Azor Ahai shall be reborn amidst smoke and salt. He is the savior. He is Daenerys Targaryen.
Her rise has fulfilled the ancient prophecy. Born from smoke and salt, she is now, and will inevitably be able to, reshape this world.
She is the reincarnation of Azor Ahai. She will defeat the darkness and bring an unending Long Summer to the world. Even the god of death will bow before her. Those who shed blood and sacrifice their lives for her cause will surely be reborn.
Daenerys is now in grave danger. The Eye of Darkness has fixed upon her. The servants of the Long Night are plotting to overthrow her.
The Lord of Light created the sun and the stars and wages an eternal struggle against darkness.
Naesys and Malaqo, however, betrayed the light. Their minds were corrupted by the yellow harpy of the East, and together with godless foreigners they plotted the most despicable alliance.
I hereby call upon everyone to unite and take part in this righteous war, to fight for the light. The child of prophecy will ride a demonic dragon, wield a flaming sword that cleanses the world, and lead us onto a glorious path.]
Most of the above prophecies come almost entirely from the original work.
That is to say, these prophecies are very likely George R. R. Martin's intended arrangement for Daenerys's future.
Therefore, my design of Dany's abilities is largely based on the prophecies of the High Priest Benerro. In other words, Dany's powers are not something I simply made up on a whim.
I am very curious how the ending of A Song of Ice and Fire will handle Benerro's prophecies. As illusions? As misunderstandings? Or as truth?
(End of chapter)
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